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bennyandthejets420's review against another edition
4.0
Read in a state of obsession over the month of June. They have been sitting on my shelf ever since my eye caught the slim set of four in vibrant colors at a local Half Price books. I bought all four of them for like 7 dollars or something. Justine, in blue. Balthazar, in brown. Mountolive, in a deep green against a field of white. Clear, in gold and yellow. I had never heard of Laurence Durrell before and the whole set looked so attractive (inside a cardboard sleeve with a minaret on the cover) that I had to bite. I picked them up this summer because I realized this might be my last free summer to read whatever I want in the next 4 years (I'm getting my PhD in Rhetoric, already a year in) and I desperately wanted to read some fiction.
In the beginning of Clea, Durrell refers to his novels as a "word-continuum" and I agree 100%. While they are tightly plotted so as to bring revelations in the characters and the reader, I had to surrender myself over to pure atmosphere: the sights, smells, sounds of 1930s Alexandria. You don't so much read these books as smoke or drink them, preferably at an elegant street cafe or next to the ocean. Since the first three books go over the same stretch of time from different perspectives, the reader fully inhabits a world more so than any recent novel I have read. I get excited whenever Pursewarden or Clea turns up because I've been wanting to hear what they have to say about whatever's going on: arguments about art, Justine's relationships, etc. (Sidenote Clea and Pursewarden are clearly the best characters. While Balthazar seems the most level headed, he's just not as entertaining. Darley, frankly, is a bore. I didn't understand Justine. Nessim is cool, I guess).
The first book, Justine, is make or break if you ask me. It's such an impressionistic, almost hallucinatory book that I stopped 10 pages in several times before saying "Fuck it" and surrendering myself to whatever was going to happen. In the beginning, it felt like reading an elegant puzzle box. I read merely to see the wheels turn. To see different characters overlap and effect each other. I just didn't like Darley's POV that much. Once Balthazar introduced the idea of the great interlinear, the hypertext of both Balthazar's and Darley's POV on the same events, I suddenly found myself caring. It's hard to explain why, but the act of reading felt more like inhabiting a world, much more than Darley moaning about whether he likes Melissa or Justine the most. Mountolive (which elsewhere Durrell referred to as the clou) is what sealed the deal for me. It's a much more straightforward, naturalistic novel which layers over the bedroom intrigue with cultural, religious, and political discourse. Just as the third dimension adds depth to length and width, so does Mountolive add 'realism' to the quartet. Clea adds "time" to the trio, but I think it might be better to say that it adds motion. Sure, we see how time effects the Old Gang, but, more importantly, Durrell sets them off on little arcs: Darley and Clea become artists, Justine and Nessim are going to Switzerland to do some intrigue or something, Pombal is learning to love again, etc. My favorite part of Clear, though, was the Pursewarden notebook interlude (conversations with brother ass; i.e., Darley) a lovely chapter and one which doesn't contribute to the plot but gives the reader more of a sense of a word-continuum.
Overall, a lovely, sensuous read which takes some getting used to but which is ultimately worth the investment. A harlequin romance with intellectual aspirations. A study of the effects of space on personality. A starter course on how to write purple prose. A word-continuum.
In the beginning of Clea, Durrell refers to his novels as a "word-continuum" and I agree 100%. While they are tightly plotted so as to bring revelations in the characters and the reader, I had to surrender myself over to pure atmosphere: the sights, smells, sounds of 1930s Alexandria. You don't so much read these books as smoke or drink them, preferably at an elegant street cafe or next to the ocean. Since the first three books go over the same stretch of time from different perspectives, the reader fully inhabits a world more so than any recent novel I have read. I get excited whenever Pursewarden or Clea turns up because I've been wanting to hear what they have to say about whatever's going on: arguments about art, Justine's relationships, etc. (Sidenote Clea and Pursewarden are clearly the best characters. While Balthazar seems the most level headed, he's just not as entertaining. Darley, frankly, is a bore. I didn't understand Justine. Nessim is cool, I guess).
The first book, Justine, is make or break if you ask me. It's such an impressionistic, almost hallucinatory book that I stopped 10 pages in several times before saying "Fuck it" and surrendering myself to whatever was going to happen. In the beginning, it felt like reading an elegant puzzle box. I read merely to see the wheels turn. To see different characters overlap and effect each other. I just didn't like Darley's POV that much. Once Balthazar introduced the idea of the great interlinear, the hypertext of both Balthazar's and Darley's POV on the same events, I suddenly found myself caring. It's hard to explain why, but the act of reading felt more like inhabiting a world, much more than Darley moaning about whether he likes Melissa or Justine the most. Mountolive (which elsewhere Durrell referred to as the clou) is what sealed the deal for me. It's a much more straightforward, naturalistic novel which layers over the bedroom intrigue with cultural, religious, and political discourse. Just as the third dimension adds depth to length and width, so does Mountolive add 'realism' to the quartet. Clea adds "time" to the trio, but I think it might be better to say that it adds motion. Sure, we see how time effects the Old Gang, but, more importantly, Durrell sets them off on little arcs: Darley and Clea become artists, Justine and Nessim are going to Switzerland to do some intrigue or something, Pombal is learning to love again, etc. My favorite part of Clear, though, was the Pursewarden notebook interlude (conversations with brother ass; i.e., Darley) a lovely chapter and one which doesn't contribute to the plot but gives the reader more of a sense of a word-continuum.
Overall, a lovely, sensuous read which takes some getting used to but which is ultimately worth the investment. A harlequin romance with intellectual aspirations. A study of the effects of space on personality. A starter course on how to write purple prose. A word-continuum.
konigsburg's review against another edition
3.0
More than a bit ponderous and over-written, it’s a love story to pre-war and wartime Alexandria, Egypt: evocative, atmospheric to the point where the city is another character. The characters themselves are not much more than cardboard cutouts, and some of what happens reads more like a 1940s version of Tales of the City. Still, the third book of the Quartet, Mountolive, stands out for its better characterization and plot - and the set pieces are indeed wonderful - the duck hunt, the party with the dominos, the indelible Scobie. But it’s less brilliance than you’d want in exchange for nearly 900 pages.
biobeetle's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Misogyny
Moderate: Violence and Death
lzad's review against another edition
5.0
I'm absolutely not sure who I would recommend this quartet to. It's one of my favourites but it's not user friendly and you have to work at it, but who want to work at reading book (especially if there isn't a test at the end!). I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I first started, so often wondering during Book one, why I was doing this to myself. It's not immediately captivating (I'm not selling this very well at all, am I?). But I kept going after Book one, mostly because I didn't have any other books at the time. My initial trouble was that it was a bit dated for me and the characters were too melancholy and far to self-absorbed for me to care much. But Alexandria, the city, was a fascinating character, so I read on.
And I'm so glad I did, because as I churned through Book two I suddenly got it and that was it for me for the next few days. Thundered on through Books three and four and sat there in stunned silence when I finished.
I really don't want to tell you why it's so clever because I'd love you to find out for yourself. It's a very slow burn but then literally everything gets set on fire.
Sorry if you want a review with plot details, and character analysis but this Quartet is more of an overall experience. At least it was that way for me. And such a good one, I did it again :-)
And I'm so glad I did, because as I churned through Book two I suddenly got it and that was it for me for the next few days. Thundered on through Books three and four and sat there in stunned silence when I finished.
I really don't want to tell you why it's so clever because I'd love you to find out for yourself. It's a very slow burn but then literally everything gets set on fire.
Sorry if you want a review with plot details, and character analysis but this Quartet is more of an overall experience. At least it was that way for me. And such a good one, I did it again :-)
natepeplinski's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
3genres's review against another edition
3.0
Yawn. I guess you need to be in the right frame of mind to read this. I read it because it's supposed to be a "great" book. I found it boring and irritating. I have never seen the word mauve as many times in a book. Other reviewers talk about the poetic language. I found myself skimming over those passages to get. to. the. point. And all the male musings on "woman" and "women" were a bit much. Reminded me a lot of Atlas Shrugged; essays buried within a novel. The multiple perspectives were interesting.
I'm happy that I am at last finished with it and can move on to something with a plot.
I'm happy that I am at last finished with it and can move on to something with a plot.
vertaren's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
leic01's review against another edition
5.0
I received The Alexandria Quartet as a Christmas gift from a dear person, and I was in the mood for reading series. Although I haven’t had much time for reading, this books had a hypnotic quality to them that sucked me in deep in the Durrell’s world, city of Alexandria. There are so many great quotes from this books that I not going to quote anything, because I can’t decide on one of just a few. The writing was magical, poetic, mystical, deep, talking about core and the essence of humans, often saying thing that are ignored and not talked about. It was painfully honest and written in original style that got me lost in abyss of human sexuality, subconscious places and seen and unseen realms of relationships. You can perceive city of Alexandria as hell and as whole earth and characters are not defined and fixed, their faces constantly change thought out the course of narrative, and through them you can see struggles, flaws and dark places of each and every one of us. Books take you on a different stream of consciousness than your own, and if you are willing to dig deep enough they are taking you on a journey of discovery of things that you never had the courage to unravel about yourself. This is almost like a manifest of philosophy of introspection.
What fascinated me the most is constant change in perspective that really highlighted the subjective outlook of one person, overall relativity of the truth and complexity of human character. The protagonists seem renewed over and over again, and were deeply layered, often going in the unexpected directions, not afraid to live as they want and take risks, even at the cost of being misunderstood or hated by other people. Durrell had the courage to explore most of the taboo themes of society and moral wrongs, while not be subjective or judgemental, and not injecting his own moral standings. He brings the reader in the state were he doesn’t feel like he can, will or even want to judge any of characters behaviour, even when they’re engaging in adultery, incest, suicide and other ‘sins’ condemned by society and religion. He perfectly showed the deepness of decadence of human spirit and civilization, in the same time not giving it too much of importance in the great scheme of one’s life story and history of humanity, enlightening that the deep reasons for one’s actions are far more significant that the action itself, and behind one’s moral flaws lies the story worth telling and understanding, unravelling it’s layers, time and times again, from changing perspectives. There is so little that we know about ourselves and others, and Durrell perfectly pointed the lavishness of his characters despite their brokenness.
What fascinated me the most is constant change in perspective that really highlighted the subjective outlook of one person, overall relativity of the truth and complexity of human character. The protagonists seem renewed over and over again, and were deeply layered, often going in the unexpected directions, not afraid to live as they want and take risks, even at the cost of being misunderstood or hated by other people. Durrell had the courage to explore most of the taboo themes of society and moral wrongs, while not be subjective or judgemental, and not injecting his own moral standings. He brings the reader in the state were he doesn’t feel like he can, will or even want to judge any of characters behaviour, even when they’re engaging in adultery, incest, suicide and other ‘sins’ condemned by society and religion. He perfectly showed the deepness of decadence of human spirit and civilization, in the same time not giving it too much of importance in the great scheme of one’s life story and history of humanity, enlightening that the deep reasons for one’s actions are far more significant that the action itself, and behind one’s moral flaws lies the story worth telling and understanding, unravelling it’s layers, time and times again, from changing perspectives. There is so little that we know about ourselves and others, and Durrell perfectly pointed the lavishness of his characters despite their brokenness.
john_bizzell's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It took me six weeks to wade through this nearly-thousand page tome. I feel quite euphoric for having finally finished it, but that's more about the achievement than the book itself. Whole swathes of the overblown prose swam before my eyes, yet certain scenes completely chrystalised and felt shockingly modern for something written 60+ years ago. I suppose it seemed to me that Durrell's devotion to his concept of looking at the same events from multiple perspectives over and over again outweighed getting to any real truth of who these characters are. Six weeks! Hundreds and hundreds of pages! And I still didn't really know or care about any of them. The ideas, setting, period and approach are very intriguing, yet all the words sort of lead me to... nothing.